In the heart of the forest, a fierce battle unfolded. The unconquerable Karavīrākṣa, harsh Paruṣa, Kālakārmuka, Hemamālī, Mahāmālī, Sarpāsya, and Rudhirāśana—commanders of great valor—led their troops forward, charging at Rāma and releasing a torrent of excellent arrows. Undaunted, the radiant Rāma struck down the rest of their army with arrows that shone like fire, adorned with gold and diamond. His arrows, feathered with gold and blazing like smoky flames, fell upon the rākṣasas with the force of thunderbolts, toppling them as storms fell great trees. Rāma’s aim was unerring: with a hundred arrows, he felled a hundred rākṣasas; with a thousand, a thousand. On that battlefield, their armor and ornaments shattered, bows broken and splintered, the night-wandering demons, stained with blood, collapsed to the earth. The ground was covered entirely, as if blanketed by sacred grass for a great altar, with the fallen—hair unbound, bodies drenched in blood. The forest itself became dreadful, transformed into a scene resembling hell, muddied with flesh and blood. Fourteen thousand rākṣasas of terrible deeds were slain by Rāma alone, fighting on foot. Of that entire host, only Khara, the mighty chariot-warrior, Triśiras the rākṣasa, and Rāma, the destroyer of foes, remained. All the rest, fierce and formidable, had been struck down in battle by Rāma, elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa. Witnessing his formidable force destroyed by Rāma’s might, Khara approached Rāma in his grand chariot, like Indra with raised thunderbolt, burning with fury. Now begins the twenty-seventh chapter of the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇyakāṇḍa. As Khara advanced, his commander Triśiras, a rākṣasa of great prowess, confronted him and spoke: “Appoint me, who am valiant, and withdraw from this rashness. Behold Rāma, mighty-armed, struck down in battle. I pledge you the truth and take up arms: I shall slay Rāma, who deserves death among all the rākṣasas. Either I shall be death to him in battle, or he to me; restrain your eagerness for combat for a moment and be a witness. If Rāma is slain, you will return joyfully to Janasthāna; or, if I am killed, you will go forth to fight Rāma.” Khara, persuaded by Triśiras and moved by a desire for death, granted permission, saying, “Go, fight.” Triśiras advanced toward Rāma, riding a radiant chariot yoked with horses, rushing like a three-peaked mountain. He released streams of arrows, like a great cloud, producing a sound like a drum wetted by water. Seeing Triśiras approach, Rāma readied his bow and received him, shaking sharp arrows. A tumultuous clash arose between Rāma and Triśiras, both exceedingly strong, like the contest of a lion and an elephant. Triśiras struck Rāma’s forehead with three arrows, provoking Rāma’s fury. Enraged and indignant, Rāma exclaimed, “Ah, what strength this valorous Rākṣasa possesses! I have been wounded on my forehead by his arrows, as if by flowers. Now accept from me these arrows loosed from my bowstring.” With great wrath, Rāma took up arrows like deadly serpents. He struck Triśiras on the chest with fourteen arrows, and with four more, sharp and well-feathered, he brought down Triśiras’ horses. With eight arrows, Rāma struck down the charioteer onto the floor of the chariot. He then cut down the raised banner with a well-aimed arrow. As Triśiras leapt from his ruined chariot, Rāma struck him in the heart, making him senseless, and furiously pierced him with more shafts. With three swift arrows, Rāma struck down his three heads; streaming smoke and blood, tormented by Rāma’s arrows, Triśiras fell in the midst of battle. The remaining rākṣasas, routed and defeated, fled to Khara, not daring to stand, like deer terrified by a tiger. Seeing his warriors in flight, Khara, enraged, turned them back and swiftly charged at Rāma, as Rāhu rushes at the moon. Now begins the twenty-eighth sarga in the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇyakāṇḍa. Seeing Dūṣaṇa and Triśiras slain in battle, even Khara was struck with fear at the sight of Rāma’s valor. He saw his vast and mighty rākṣasa army destroyed by Rāma alone, along with his two commanders. Disheartened by the destruction of his force, Khara advanced on Rāma, as Namuci did on Indra. Drawing his powerful bow, Khara hurled barbed arrows, bloodthirsty, at Rāma, like enraged venomous serpents. Shaking his bowstring repeatedly, displaying his skill in weapons, Khara, riding in his chariot, moved through the battle, loosing arrows. The great chariot-warrior filled all the quarters and directions with arrows; seeing this, Rāma took up his mighty bow, ready to face Khara’s wrath.